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Pau Gasol vs. Marvin Williams: Gasol has been such a coup of a free-agent pickup for the Bulls, who originally targeted Carmelo Anthony for the money they freed when they used the amnesty clause on Carlos Boozer.

Observations

▪ The Hornets have somewhat lost their way of late as far as an unrelenting commitment to defense. Coach Steve Clifford called them a “sometimes” team after Wednesday’s home loss to the Sacramento Kings.

▪ The Hornets beat the Bulls in Chicago recently, but that was right after the Bulls learned of Derrick Rose’s most recent knee injury.

Tap-ins

▪ Hornets center Al Jefferson will miss this game with a calf injury suffered against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.

▪ Cody Zeller continues to be out with a right shoulder sprain. Rookie Noah Vonleh might get some minutes at power forward Friday.

Did you know?

Gasol leads the NBA in double-doubles with 43. Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins is second with 38.